Cassini orbiter mission that is now in the Saturn orbit is shedding a new light, but also new wild interpretations of the ringed planet. From ancient Saturnalias, renaissance Neo-Platonists, to the new interpretations, Saturn is seen as an alien vehicle of human reality distortion. Saturn was historically perceived as malevolent agent, creating limitations, introducing time and rigid structure, but also was associated with genius and melancholy that started to be seen as positive after the renaissance. A rising interest in Saturn (and in general cosmic speculations) all over vast Internet landscapes in recent years is parallel with the rise of current post-reality conditions, alt-right and general alienation of machinic financial capitalism.

In his lecture within the exhibition KOZMIKOMIKS in tranzit.sk, Kristian Lukić will present some historical resemblance of current questions of technological entanglement. Although heavily influenced by network technologies, contemporary “dark enlightments” with “post-truth”, “post-realties”, fake news, right wing fear mongering and increasing interest in occult have their historical counterparts. What is common to all of them is that they share a “zeitgeist” of paranoia, revenge and distrust of shared wider social visions. Renewed interest in mental/spiritual/physical escape(out of Earth like recently proposed by Musk or Hawking, or into social-media escape, urban escape) at the end is showing our current social entanglement and blurred common political horizon.

Kristian Lukić is curator, artist and researcher. He is a PhD fellow at Knowledge Cultures group at Leuphana University, Lüneburg and also a co-founder of Institute for Flexible Cultures and Technologies – NAPON, from Novi Sad (www.napon.org). He is working in the intersection of art, technology and politics. In the last several years he is researching relations between general algorithmization and spreading of conspiracy theories, increase of occult research and so called post-reality conditions. Also he took part in Facebook research project of Share Lab with his text «Colonization with Love» https://labs.rs/en/category/facebook-research/

From 2001 until 2006 he was working as program manager in New Media Center - kuda.org. From 2006 until 2011 he was working as curator of media practice at Museum of Contempoarary Arts Vojvodina, Novi Sad. He curated and organized several exhibitions and conferences such are “Play Cultures” in 2007 (about game culture and politics of play), “Territories and Resources” in 2008, about web 2.0 and social networks phenomena, and “Wealth of Nations” about world of financials in 2009 in Novi Sad and in Bristol in 2010. With Stealth Unlimited group he curated Film and Video Festival “Impact” in Utrech in October 2010. From 2010 till 2013 had run research project “Autonomies” about algorithmic regimes in art & society.

ERSTE Foundation is the main partner of tranzit.
This project has been supported using public funds provided by Slovak Arts Council.
The project has been supported by the Grant Scheme of Bratislava Self-Governing Region.